Apres Ski
by FriendsLovers
Summary: Snowy mountains, a romantic ski cottage and two friends in love. What will happen? - DL
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Snowy mountains, a romantic ski cottage and two friends in love. What will happen?**

**The whole team will go on vacation to the beautiful town Ischgl in Austria for skiing. The whole team means Mac, Stella, Peyton, Hawkes, Flack, Adam, Danny and Lindsay. What will happen in the romantic, snowy landscape?**

**Author's note: Thanks to HillHarperHOT for beta'ing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I don't own CSI:NY.**

**Pairings: D/L**

**Rating: T**

It was early in the morning. Almost everyone of the eight CSI, coming from New York, were sleeping in the huge van, except Mac, who was driving the car, and Lindsay. She was sitting at one of the windows, her head resting against the glass. She was enjoying the wonderful view. Although it was dark, there was still enough to see of the wonderful Austrian landscape. There were a few other cars on the long street and huge mountains were surrounding them, covered with white snow. A smile went on Lindsay's face when she thought that they'd spend a whole week, better said nine days, in this nice area.

Already a few months ago, Mac had told his seven colleagues that they'd go on vacation soon In the last few months, none of them had even thought about the word 'holidays'. Even at Christmas and New Year they had worked. As a surprise for his busy CSI, Mac had planned this trip for them.

Last Monday he then had ordered them into his office to tell them about his plans. They, more specifically Stella, Peyton, Hawkes, Flack, Adam, Danny and Lindsay, had been excited. They all couldn't wait for their holidays- finally some time out of the lab. They wondered what their boss had planned for them.

When Mac entered the room, the whole attention turned to him.

"Good morning." He greeted them. "Okay, I already told you that we'll go on vacation. So, who of you can skiing?" Seven couples of eyes went wide.

"Skiing?" Adam asked. Mac nodded.

"Yes. We'll go to Austria. There's a beautiful town called Ischgl. They have a lot of ski slopes there. I've rented a holiday house, not far away from the ski lifts. Ischgl is lying in a small valley, surrounded by the mountains. The landscape is beautiful and there'll be a lot of snow now. We'll flay Friday and will stay for nine days."-

"We'll skiing? Great!" Lindsay answered. She loved skiing, she had done it so many times in Montana.

"Then I think you already can skiing?" Mac asked. When Lindsay nodded, he asked the others, "And what about you?"

They found out that Hawkes and Peyton also had been skiing, but Flack, Stella, Adam and Danny had never done it before.

"That's no problem, I already expected that." Mac then said. "We'll have a skiing instructor there. You'll learn it fast."

When Lindsay had seen the looks on her four co-workers faces, she couldn't help but chuckled. Skiing wasn't easy, but she was sure they'd all have fun.

Now, a few days, a long flight and almost one hour sitting in this van later, the team had almost reached their target- Ischgl.

Lindsay threw a short glance at Danny, who was sitting next to her. Until now he had slept since Mac had started the car. Lindsay had looked at him several times, and she couldn't help but thinking how cute he looked while he was sleeping.

Lindsay had started working in new York around a year ago. Danny had been one of her first friends, they had immediately liked each other. Although she had always tried to deny it, Lindsay had definitely a crush on him for a long time now. She didn't know if it was because of this gorgeous grin he only gave her, or because of this incredible blue eyes, or because he was there for her since her first day. She only knew that this friendship meant everything for her and that she'd never ruin it because of these feelings.

When Lindsay now looked at him, Danny suddenly moved a little in his seat and opened his eyes, straight looking into hers. The sudden eye contact instantly made Lindsay blushing. To overplay that, she smiled at him and asked, "Hey. Did you sleep well?"-

"Hm, it was okay." Danny answered with a husky, sleepy voice. Lindsay blushed even more, cursing herself for that. She hated it when he had this effect on her. She didn't know what to say. But it wasn't necessary to say anything, because Danny moved a little again, and then said to Mac, "Hey Mac. When are we finally there?"-

"In a few minutes." Mac answered, his tired eyes focusing onto the street.

"Nice to know." Danny replied, making himself comfortable in his seat. Then he looked back at Lindsay.

"So, are you looking forward to your very first skiing lesson?" Lindsay asked to prevent an awkward silence between them like had happened so many times before. Danny chuckled.

"I'm not sure yet. But at least I'm not the only one here who has absolutely no idea how to ski."-

"Oh, I'm sure you'll learn it fast. We'll have a lot of fun."-

"I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun there, Montana." Danny answered, again looking straight into her eyes. And there it was again- this smile he only gave her.

Lindsay still wasn't sure if Danny was doing that with her because he just wanted to tease her or because he was indeed flirting with her. But one thing was clear- this would be a very special vacation, especially for them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Thanks for your reviews. :)**

**Thanks to HillHarperHOT for the beta!**

Almost half an hour later, the van with the team finally reached the town. The sun was already appearing between the huge mountains, letting the snow sparkle. The others were awake now, as well, but Lindsay didn't pay much attention to them. She was looking out of the window, soaking in every detail of the beautiful landscape. Although they were in the middle of a town, she still felt like she was in the middle of nature. She was so fascinated by the great view, that she even didn't notice that Danny was watching her the whole time.

He was always amazed by how easy it was to impress her. Take her to a nice place like this and her eyes started to sparkle like she was a child on her birthday. For him, she was the cutest person he had ever met. And of course the most beautiful and sexiest, most intelligent and most friendly person, too. Until now he had never dared to tell her, one of his best friends, about that. But this didn't mean that he couldn't at least flirt with her.

A few minutes later, Mac slowed down the car until he stopped it in front of a beautiful, little house.

"Here we are." He said.

"Oh, finally!" Flack, who was sitting next to Danny, shouted out, opening the door. The others followed him.

When Lindsay had left the car, feeling the snow under her boots, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh, cold air. She was so happy that she could be there now, not only because the snowy mountains reminded her of her home back in Montana, she was also looking forward to nine days together with her friends. Then she walked over to the others, pulling her suitcase out of the car, before they followed Mac to the front door of the house.

"Okay, this will be our holiday house for the following nine days." He told them. "We have three bedrooms with three beds in every room on the first floor. I say we make three teams, two with three persons and one with two persons."-

"Hey, that's great." Stella said, throwing two short glances at the other women. "So, what do you say? We could have one room together, only for us girls."-

"Good idea." Lindsay immediately agreed.

"Yes." Peyton said. She gave Mac an excusing look, but maybe it was anyway better if they didn't share a room while their colleagues were next door.

After Lindsay, Stella and Peyton had become the first team, Danny, Flack and Adam decided to take the second room, and Mac and Hawkes the third.

After Mac had handed two of the three keys to the other groups, he went over to the door to open it. Just in time when he had unlocked the door, Peyton noticed something.

"Oh, looks like one of the rooms has a balcony." She said, pointing up to said balcony.

"Yes, and I already know who'll get it." Stella replied. And without saying another word, the three women rushed into the house and upstairs, directly to the door were they expected the room with the balcony. When they had opened the door and entered the room, their eyes went wide.

"Wow, how wonderful." Lindsay spoke out what all the three were thinking. And indeed, the bedroom was huge. Big, wooden beds with thick pillows and blankets were standing at the walls, next to big, wooden cupboards. At the opposite wall was a huge window with a door which led onto the balcony. After the three had soaked in the wonderful bedroom, they started to pack out their suitcases.

Almost an hour later, Lindsay opened the door to the balcony, slowly entering it. Stella and Peyton had gone downstairs to inspect the rest of the house; the others were doing the same or were still packing out their suitcases. Lindsay went over to the edge of the balcony, resting her hands onto the railing. A cool, almost icy wind was blowing, tangling in her hair and her clothes, letting her shiver. The sun now was shining bright from the deep blue sky. The snow on the little houses and mountains was sparkling like thousands of diamonds. A happy smile went on Lindsay's face. This was indeed like in Montana- quiet and beautiful. The place Mac had chosen for them was just perfect.

"Hey, Montana." A familiar voice suddenly interrupted her in her thoughts. Lindsay looked downwards, seeing Danny standing in front of the house, looking up at her. "How is the air up there?" Lindsay couldn't help but chuckle. He looked just too cute in his thick ski pullover, with the huge smile on his face.

"It's great, why don't you come up here?" She asked back. Danny smile went even bigger.

"Oh, is this an invitation?"-

"Sure."-

"I'll be there in a second. Don't run away." Danny answered, and rushed back into the house, making Lindsay laughing even more.

A short moment later, Danny also appeared on the balcony, stepping next to Lindsay. Lindsay didn't even have to look at him to know that he was there; she could clearly feel his presence. Although they both were always saying that they were nothing more than just best friends, there was something between them, a tension, which usually wasn't there between friends. The intensity of this tension was always different, sometimes more, sometimes less. Now, at this moment, although nothing special was happening, it was very intense, so intense that they both didn't dare to look at each other.

"You are really happy to be here, right?" Danny then asked into the silence.

"Yes, it reminds me of my home. And I'm looking forward to the time when we'll be skiing. I love this sport."-

"Well, maybe I'll love it, too, we'll see. I'm sure you'll look great while you are skiing." Danny said, looking at her. Lindsay was still not looking at him, but he could see how she started to blush.

"I hope I'll not look to stupid." He then added. Lindsay grinned a little.

"Don't worry, everyone started sometime. Although I can't wait to see your first try."-

"Oh, yes, I believe that." Danny replied. Then it was silent again. Danny was still watching the woman next to him. When Mac had told them that they all would go on vacation for nine days, he had tried hard to not grin too much. Nine whole days together with Lindsay. Although Danny was still telling himself over and over again that they were only friends, he couldn't deny that he was more interested in her than in any other woman he had met since he knew her.

"I'm glad that Mac planned this vacation for us." Danny then said. "It'll be good for us to spend some time together." Lindsay looked up at him, straight into his eyes. She didn't know why, but deep inside she hoped that with _us_ he didn't mean the whole team but the two of them. And when their eyes met, she indeed saw something in his that was telling her that she was right. This vacation would indeed be good for them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Thanks for your reviews.**

**Many, many thanks to HillHarperHOT for beta'ing!**

Later that day, Mac called his seven friends to join him in the huge living room of their house. After they all had sat down on the thick couches, he told them what he had planned for their first day.

"Today there's not much we have to do." He started. "We have to rent your skis, boots and ski sticks. That's what we'll do first. Then you can spend the rest of the day on your own. Our first day on the ski slopes will be tomorrow, but we'll talk about that later."-

"Sounds like a plan." Flack replied. "When will we go?"-

"We'll meet in front of the house in half an hour." Mac answered, the others nodding in agreement.

Sometime later, they went over to the ski shop where they would rent the needed equipment. In the shop, a tall, blonde woman greeted them, talking to Mac first before she led them in.

"Welcome to Ischgl." She then greeted the group. "I'll give you the equipment you need. But first I need your height, your weight and the size of your shoes."

A confused look went onto Flack's, Danny's, Stella's and Adam's faces.

"Why do you want to know all this?" Adam asked. The woman smiled.

"We need your height and weight to find out which ski you need. They are different. And we need your shoe size for the ski boots. And please, tell me the exact size."-

"Why wouldn't we?" This time Danny asked.

"Because some women like to tell us a smaller shoe size, because they think it would look better. But believe me, if you're wearing too small shoe boots for a long time, you can't walk anymore after a day on the ski slopes." The woman answered, throwing short glances at the other three women. Danny, Flack and Adam laughed, while Stella blushed a little.

After everyone had told the woman what she wanted to know, she handed a pair of skis, ski sticks and boots to them.

"Wow, what horrible shoes." Flack said after trying them on. Hawkes, who was standing next to him, laughed.

"What did you expect?" He asked him.

"I agree with Don." Danny said, also not impressed by the thick boots. "You can hardly walk in them."-

"You don't have to walk in them; you have to ski in them." Mac replied. "And now, try the ski on, but stay away from concrete."

Another half hour later, every one of the eight finally had their skiing equipment. After bringing it back to their holiday house, Mac told them that from they could spend the rest of the day on their own.

While he and Peyton decided to go into the town to buy some food, although everyone knew that they just wanted to spend some time alone, the rest of the team started to make plans for their first day in Austria.

"Do you know what I want to do now?" Stella said." I want to go into one of these cute little cafés I have seen. Who wants to come with me?"-

"I'll come with you." Both Hawkes and Lindsay answered immediately. Stella nodded.

"And what about you?" She asked the three others.

"Oh, well, I want to look for what else we can find in this little town." Flack answered. "Maybe we can find a bar for tonight? Or something else to have some fun. And I'm sure the two guys here will come with me, right?"-

"Sure." Adam answered.

Danny also nodded, but said nothing to that. Although it was very short, Lindsay caught the glance he gave her. She gave him a little smile. Obviously she was not the only one who had hoped to spend this afternoon together with him.

A little later and after some minutes wandering through the beautiful town, Stella, Hawkes and Lindsay found a nice little café with a view onto the snowy mountains. The entered the café and chose one of the tables standing at the huge window of the front side. Lindsay immediately liked the little café- the atmosphere was just great. Cafés in New York were very noisy most of the time, but not here.

"So, what do you want?" Hawkes asked after they had sat down at the table. Stella, who was studying the menu, had a light confused look on her face.

"If I could understand the menu, I'd tell you." She said. Lindsay took the menu, but also didn't understand much. Hawkes chuckled.

"Let me guess- none of you got the idea of learning some German before we came here, right?" He asked. When the two women shook their heads, he took the menu.

"Okay, just tell me what you want, I'll order it." He said.

"I want a coffee with cream." Stella said.

"Me, too." Lindsay agreed. Hawkes nodded.

A few minutes later, one of the waitresses came over to them.

"Hallo, was wollen Sie bestellen?" She asked.

„Wir möchten zwei Milchkaffee und einen Kaffee." Hawkes answered. The waitress nodded.

"Alles klar." She said and left them again. With a little proud smile Hawkes looked back at Stella and Lindsay, who were looking at him with huge eyes.

"Wow, and now tell me- did you learn that because it's easier like this or because you want to impress the Austrian women?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, lets say, both could be right." Hawkes answered, and they all laughed.

After the waitress had brought them their coffee, the three were fast in a deep talk, Lindsay enjoyed this time together with them. Usually she only saw her co-workers and friends at the lab, where they hadn't much time to talk. Of course they had also met a few times in their free time, but because they most of the time had different shifts, this didn't happen often. Lindsay had found great friends beyond her co-workers, and it was wonderful to spend so much time together with them now.

They sat in the cafe for almost an hour, deep in their talk.

"Hey, look who's there." A voice suddenly interrupted them. Hawkes, Stella and Lindsay looked up at the same time, noticing Danny, Flack and Adam who were standing next to them.

"Hey, your discovery trip is already over?" Stella greeted them. Flack nodded, while the three took three chairs to join their friends at the table.

"Yes, we found a few nice bars, but Danny here obviously wasn't in the mood for some fun, so we decided to search for you."

"Oh, what happened?" Hawkes asked Danny, who blushed lightly.

"Nothing, I think I'm just tired after the long flight and everything. I can't understand why you're so fit." He answered, hoping that this was enough for them. He didn't want to tell them that the real reason for his behaviour was, that he couldn't help but thinking about Lindsay the whole time. Danny already knew that he was interested in her, but that she was present in his mind for almost the whole time was new to him. He was looking forward to nine whole days together with her, and he didn't want to miss a single moment.

But to his luck he didn't have to explain more, because the waitress appeared again, asking them what they wanted. And before Hawkes could answer again, Danny, to the surprise of the others, said, "Wir möchten drei Kaffee, bitte."

After the waitress had left again, Danny grinned when he saw the surprised looks on his friends' faces.

"What?" He asked. "I thought you wouldn't say 'no' to a coffee."-

"I don't think that's what we're surprised about." Hawkes answered. "Looks like I'm not the only one who prepared for this trip."

Danny grinned even more, looking at Lindsay.

"Very impressive." She said when their eyes met. Danny replied nothing to that, he just looked at her. Although he would never admit it, one reason why he learnt a little German was to see this reaction from her.

They spent another hour in the little Austrian cafe, until they decided to go back to their holiday house. They all agreed that they had enjoyed this time together.

In the evening, after they had had dinner, which they had cooked together out of the food Mac and Peyton had bought, Lindsay put on one of her warm winter jackets and went outside. She discovered a little bank standing next to their house earlier. She sat down, enjoying the quiet. Lindsay took a deep breath, a warm feeling rising inside her. Again she noticed how happy she was to be there now. It was already dark, but thousands of stars and the moon were sparkling above. A cold wind was blowing and it had started to snow. The holiday house was lying on a lonely place near the mountains, from where Lindsay had a beautiful view onto the bright lights of the town. Like on a postcard, she thought.

When she suddenly heard the noise of the front door, Lindsay turned around, seeing Danny leaving the house as well. He first didn't notice her, until she greeted him, "Hey."

Danny, who obviously had been deep in his thoughts, turned around to her. When he saw Lindsay sitting on the bank, he smiled walking over to her.

"Hey." He said, sitting down next to her. "What are you doing here?"-

"I thought I could use some time alone." She answered. "I love the quiet here. It's so different from New York." Danny nodded.

"Yes, I know what you mean."

They sat like this for a while, not sure what to say now. There was this tension again, the same they had felt earlier on the balcony. And they both had the feeling that it became stronger and stronger the more time they spent together. Lindsay threw a short glance at Danny, her eyes instantly meeting his, noticing how close they were sitting. They were only inches away from each other, both not able to speak, overwhelmed by the feelings flowing between them. They both didn't notice how the front door went open again.

"Hey, you two, what are you doing here? Come in, Mac wants to talk to us." Adam said. Danny and Lindsay turned around to him, both annoyed by the sudden interruption, both feeling a little confused.

"Okay, we're coming." Danny then answered.

After sharing another short glance, the two stood up and followed Adam back into the house, both deep in their thoughts, still impressed by the intensity of their feelings for each other.

**Author's note: The translation.**

_Grüß Gott, was wollen Sie bestellen- Good day/ hello, what do you want to order? _

_Wir möchten zwei Milchkaffee und einen Kaffee.- __We want two coffees with cream and one coffee. _

_Alles klar.- Alright._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry I haven't updated this story for so long. Here's finally a new chapter.**

The next morning, when Lindsay woke up, she needed a moment to realize where she was. The bed she was lying in was definitely not hers. She turned around, just to see two other beds in the room, with two other sleeping women lying in them. Within a second the realisation hit her. Right, they were in Austria, in their beautiful little holiday house.

Lindsay's eyes instantly started to sparkle. She quickly jumped out of her bed. For a moment she thought about opening the huge window, but then changed her mind. She didn't want Stella and Peyton to wake up yet. So she quietly slid into her warm boots and left the room. As quiet as she could she walked downstairs, cursing the old stairs for making noise at every step.

What could she do now? Mac had wanted them to get up early, but not that early. Should she wake the others up? No. Lindsay's eyes wandered through the kitchen and an idea came into her mind. With a smile she headed over to the fridge. She didn't have to wake the others up, but she could already make breakfast for them. With a smile she checked the food they had in the fridge. This would be a nice surprise. And breakfast they needed. They'd have a long day. A hard day.

The coffee had just finished, spreading a delicious aroma, when Lindsay heard noises coming from upstairs.

"Montana, is that you?" a very sleepy Danny asked, slowly walking down the stairs, needing the railing for support.

Lindsay turned around, smiling at him. "Yes, of course it's me. I thought I'd make breakfast for us."

"You seriously stood up early to makes us breakfast?" Danny asked, looking at her in disbelief.

Lindsay chuckled. "Not really. I was awake anyway." After a brief moment of silence, she added, "So, are you already looking forward to your first skiing lesson?"

"Do you want me to be honest?" Danny replied. The expression on his face said more than words.

Still laughing, Lindsay put the first pancakes onto a plate and handed it over to her friend, who had already sat down at the huge dining table. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad. You'll like it."

"I don't think so," Danny answered, still not convinced.

"We'll see."

During the next half an hour the rest of the team joined Danny and Lindsay in the kitchen. Together they enjoyed breakfast while Mac told them about their plans for the day. Hearing that they wanted to spend most of this time skiing, Danny's expression became more and more frightened. Of course he would face this challenge, although he knew it might be embarrassing for him. But he wouldn't show that. And saying he didn't want to go skiing and would rather stay at home? Never! If this gave him the chance to see this adorable and excited smile of Lindsay, it was worth it.

Another two hours later, the eight friends were on their way to the ski station where they'd also meet their skiing teacher. The moment Danny spotted the handsome, tall man, a huge smile on his face, he knew he'd dislike him. The way he greeted them, the way he looked at Stella, Peyton, and especially at Lindsay; there was no way he could not dislike this man. But he wouldn't be able make a move on any of the three. Especially not on his Montana.

After the exchange of the casual greetings, they entered the cable railway that was supposed to take them to the ski station and the ski slopes. The closer they got to their target, the more frightened Danny, Flack, Adam and Stella seemed to be. Lindsay had to bite her lips to prevent herself from grinning. She could clearly remember her first skiing lesson and how excited she had been. She had been a child at this time, but surly had been as nervous as her four friends were now.

Mac had decided that, although half of them already knew how to ski, they'd stay together as one group. The moment the eight friends and the skiing teacher left the cable railway, Lindsay's eyes widened in awe. The sight in front of her was impressive; high mountains, covered in glistering, white snow. Images of Montana instantly came into her mind. How often she had seen a view like this! And as much as she loved living in New York, she had missed it.

"Nice view, huh? Reminds you of home?" Danny's voice interrupted her in her thoughts. Lindsay hadn't noticed that he had watched her since the moment they had left the cable railway.

"Yes," was Lindsay's short response and a huge smile lit her face. It definitely reminded her of her home.

"Alright," the loud, clear voice of the skiing teacher, Mike Smith, caught their attention. "Before we start I'll show you how to put on your ski correctly."

"What?" Flack asked. "Why? Can't we do that on our own?"

Mike laughed. "It's not that easy. You can try it, but I'd recommend you let me show you how to do it."

Much to Lindsay's amusement she saw Danny rolling his eyes at the skiing teacher. She had already noticed he wasn't a big fan of Mike. Discussions were only a question of time. The time they'd spend on the ski slopes would be a lot of fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing and for voting! I'm sorry if some of my descriptions are a bit confusing. Some things are difficult to write in English for me, but I'm trying my best. :) Here's a new chapter!**

"Alright, did everyone manage to put their ski on?" Mike Smith asked.

"As if that was difficult," Danny whispered, once again rolling his eyes.

Lindsay, who was standing next to him, chuckled at the way he looked at their skiing teacher. The man hadn't really done anything wrong yet, but the fact that he was good in something Danny was even afraid of wasn't a nice experience for her friend.

"But they don't really look like they're attached to the boots very tightly," Adam said, sceptic looking down at his ski.

"That's okay," Mike answered. "It's important when you fall. So you can lose them and don't immediately break your leg."

"Good to know," this time Flack answered, not looking like he was really trusting in what the skiing teacher was telling them.

"Okay. So after you all managed to put your ski on, we can get to the next point," Mike said satisfied. "Warming up."

"Warming up?" Stella asked back, groaning lightly. "Do we really have to warm up? Honestly, I am already pretty warm."

"Believe me, if you start skiing without any warming up, you'll regret it in the end," Mike said, giving her that toothy smile which instantly caused Danny to roll his eyes again.

After following Mike's warming up program, the skiing teacher finally gave them the signal the group had waited for since they had arrived at the skiing station- they were finally going to ski.

"Are you sure the ones of you who can already ski want to stay here?" he asked. "I think most of the day will be spend with showing our beginners how to walk up a slope and break."

"That's okay," Mac answered. "This is a team vacation, what means I want us all to spend as much time together as possible. I'm sure our beginners will learn quickly and we'll soon be able to go onto the ski slopes."

"Are you sure you're only doing that because it's a team vacation?" Flack wanted to know, looking slightly unhappy. "Or do you only want to have a good laugh at our attempts at not breaking our bones?"

Mac only laughed in response. "Everyone of us was a beginner once," he answered. "So don't worry. We won't laugh."

"Yeah, sure," Flack replied, not the slightest bit convinced.

Danny, who also hadn't been happy about having visitors at his first attempts at skiing, hadn't really paid attention to the conversation between his boss, his best friend and his skiing teacher. His full attention was resting on Lindsay. That was not surprising; one of Danny's favourite hobbies was watching his co-worker, all the time making sure she didn't notice she was watched by him.

But today was different, because what he was seeing he definitely didn't like. Since they had arrived, Lindsay's eyes were resting on Mike Smith. And if he wasn't completely wrong, she seemed to be interested in this guy! All the time when he was talking, she was smiling at him, especially when the offending teacher gave her those smiles and grins and looks. Looks only he was allowed to give her. Sure, he could understand she liked the attention he was giving her; every woman would. But that didn't mean he had to like it either.

"Alright. So, after our warming up, it's about time for your very first skiing lesson," Mike announced, all the time this happy and motivating tone in his deep voice. "But...like Mr Taylor said, this is a team vacation. And because I don't want our professionals to be bored, maybe one of you could show our beginners here the first steps. How does that sound? Any volunteers?"

With a huge smile, he let his eyes wander over Mac, Peyton, Hawkes and Lindsay. And, like Danny had expected, the man's eyes stopped on Lindsay.

"What about you? Miss Monroe, right?" he asked, extremely friendly.

Lindsay nodded, instantly blushing. "Yes, that's me. What am I supposed to show them?"

"I'd suggest we start getting up this little slope over there. Can you walk up there and show them how it works?"

Lindsay nodded. "Of course."

With that she walked over to the bottom of the small ski slope. Looking up there and then throwing a short glance at her co-workers and the grinning skiing teacher, she felt how her heart started to beat faster. Lindsay had never been one who liked to be the center of people's attention. Now everyone was staring at her, would notice every mistake she'd make. What could get really embarrassing. But then she shook her head determined. What was she doing again? Confusing herself? Making herself nervous? Why? She was skiing since she her childhood now, and she could show a simple exercise like walking up a slope.

With that she took a deep breath and started to move.

"Look at what Miss Monroe is doing," she heard Mike's voice explaining. "She's walking with her side facing the top of the slope. She's using the edges of her ski. That's how you have to do it. You can't just walk straight up there."

Listening to the skiing teacher, Lindsay couldn't help but chuckle. He talked to them like they were kids, explained everything in a way even a five years old could understand. And she didn't even have to look at Danny to know what an annoyed expression he'd have on his face.

When she had reached the top of the slope, Lindsay released a relieved sigh. She had done it, without doing any embarrassing mistake. Great! Smiling she turned around.

"Perfect, Miss Monroe" Mike shouted up to her. "That was really good." Turning around to the team, he asked, "Who of you is next?"

"Me," Danny instantly answered.

"Are you sure?" Mike asked, slightly raising his eyebrows. "Maybe one of the other professionals should..."

"No, I'm next," Danny interrupted him. "I saw what Lindsay did and I'll try it myself."

"Okay, then give it a try," Mike said, shrugging lightly.

Determined Danny moved over the few inches to the place Lindsay had started earlier. He had watched her closely, had seen every of her movements. And what she had done had looked pretty easy. So why shouldn't he be able to do the same? He'd show this Mike guy how fast he learnt.

With that he made his first step. Like Lindsay he tried to step on the edges of his ski. But, not like Lindsay, he instantly noticed himself gliding away. Concentrating more, he set his left foot a bit higher, resting his weight onto the edge, like Mike had told them. Finally sure that he wouldn't glide away, he did the same with his other foot. Repeating those movements, he noticed satisfied that he was really making progresses in getting up the slope, inch by inch.

"Come on, Danny, we don't have time forever," Flack shouted at him.

Annoyed Danny turned his attention to his teasingly grinning friend, glaring at him. "Funny, wiseass. Maybe you come up here and show me how fast you are."

"Danny concentrate on your walking," Mike interfered before Flack could respond. "Otherwise you'll quickly be down here again."

Sighing deeply, shaking his head, Danny turned back to what he was supposed to do. As much as he wanted to impress everyone, he noticed that increasing the speed would really only cause him to glide back down to where he had started again. And all he wanted was reaching Lindsay without ending on his butt before.

After what seemed to be hours, Danny finally dared to look up to the top of the slope, noticing Lindsay being only inches away from him. What had looked so easy when she had done it, was a lot more difficult now. But after a few more steps, he was standing next to her, giving her a proud grin.

"You see, Montana, I'm a quick learner," he said, winking at her, causing her to chuckle.

"You are," she replied, gently resting her hand on his arm. Although Danny knew that mostly she was saying that to be friendly, the fact that she was smiling at him like that and touching him like that was more than worth it.

With the time, the rest of the team followed Danny. Flack, who had been convinced that he'd definitely be faster than his best friend, only ended up gliding back down half the slope after trying to increase his speed. The same happened to Adam. Only Stella, who concentrated on every single step, managed to reach her friends without making any mistakes.

"That was really good," Mike said after every team member had passed his first exercise. "Now we have to get down here again. Miss Monroe, after being such a great teacher before, would you like to show us how to do that as well?"

"Of course," Lindsay answered, again blushing. Taking another deep breath, she moved to the edge of the slope. In two, wavy, elegant lines she skied down to the place they had just stood at a few minutes earlier.

"Really, really good," she heard Mike shouting again. And to the others he said, "You saw what she did. You have to ski in wavy lines. Everything else would be too dangerous, for yourself and the other skiers here. And when you want to stop, you have to narrow the tips of your ski. Mr Messer, do you want to be the next one again?"

Being asked like that, Danny couldn't help but blush immediately. Seeing the look in Mike's eyes, he wasn't sure if the man was just teasing him or was serious. But saying 'no'? No, that was impossible.

"Yes, sure," he answered instead.

And, like Lindsay before, he moved to the edge of the slope to repeat what his friend had done. But, like he had already expected, he wasn't even getting close to what she had done. Right after starting to ski down the slope, Danny noticed his ski becoming faster and faster by the second.

"Danny, you have to ski wavy lines. And if that doesn't work, narrow the tips of your ski," Mike shouted.

"What the hell do you think I'm trying?" Danny yelled back. Making another desperate try at slowing down, he decided to go with the only other possibility he seemed to have; a more painful one though. Squeezing his eyes shut, he let himself fall into the snow. Hard.

"Ouch," he heard the others exclaiming and Mike, who shouted, "Are you alright?"

Groaning, Danny moved to sit up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he shouted back.

"Are you sure?" another voice asked him. Looking up from his sitting position, he noticed Lindsay, who was kneeling next to him, looking a little concerned.

"Yes, yes, I'm good," he answered quickly, smiling at her. "I just wanted to make sure I don't hurt any other skier."

Chuckling, Lindsay nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure next time you'll be more successful. Your walk up there was already really good."

"Thank you," Danny replied. The way Lindsay was looking at him, smiling, even being a bit concerned, was definitely worth a hurting butt. Who cared if this Mike guy remained grinning at her all the time? He'd manage to get her attention. Even if it was not with impressing her.

Danny had already stopped denying that he was seriously interested in Lindsay. And he'd show everyone that there was only one person this cute little woman was supposed to be with; this person was him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews!! I'm happy you like this story! Here's the next chapter for you. R&R! :)**

The next few hours, Mike let them repeat their first two exercises. After their first problems, Danny, Flack, Stella and Adam managed to pass them successfully.

But as much as they learnt and had fun the entire day, everyone of the them was glad when Mac told them to head home in the afternoon.

"Don't worry if you'll have a hurting butt or other hurting body parts. That's normal after the first lesson."

"Good to know," Stella replied, sighing rubbing her left leg where she had landed on more than once.

"But obviously our professional skiers here had a lot of fun as well, even without laughing at us," Flack said quietly to Danny, nodding his head into Lindsay's direction. Their co-worker, who was just gratefully removing her boots, was smiling all the time.

"No surprise after all the attention she received from this Mike guy," Adam said, who had overheard the comment.

But Flack shook his head.

"I wouldn't say it's because of the attention she got from Mike," he said. "But more because of the reaction of a special person to that." He looked at Danny, a broad grin on his face.

"You're just too funny, Flack," Danny replied, groaning in annoyance.

While Flack and Adam only laughed in response, he headed over to the large van, already waiting for them. Was he really that obvious? That everyone noticed how pissed he was by Mike's behaviour? And- could it be possible that Flack was right? Was it possible that Lindsay had rather enjoyed the way he had reacted to Mike's attention to her than the attention itself? Many questions and no answers; this combined with almost every part of his body hurting didn't really help Danny's mood to get better.

Sitting down in the car, he released a relieved sigh. Sitting was exactly what he needed now, although that hurt as well. But it was better than walking up a ski slope over and over again. His eyes closed, he didn't notice how someone else approached the car and entered it. He only noticed the other person when he noticed the familiar sound of her perfume; surely the most delicious smell he had ever smelt. Opening his eyes, he looked straight into Lindsay's.

"Hey," she said, giving him one of her bright smiles. "I already wondered if you fell asleep. Exhausting first skiing lesson, right?"

"Definitely," Danny answered, sighing playfully. "Especially when you fall around a thousand times and have to get up again. Perfect work-out."

Laughing, Lindsay nodded. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it pretty quickly. Until now you were really good. And Flack, Adam and Stella as well."

"That's really friendly of you," Danny replied, causing her to laugh again.

"You don't believe me?" she asked.

"Not really," he answered. "You can ask my bruises."

"Maybe I will," she shot back.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her comment. But before he could come up with a fitting response, they were interrupted by the other team members joining them and Flack giving him a thoughtful grin. The response had to wait. For now.

When Mac had told his friends that they were going to feel every part of their bodies soon, he had been more than right. Lindsay had almost forgotten how exhausting and also painful this kind of sports could be. After having dinner together, Mac told his friends to spend the rest of the day the way they wanted to. For Stella, Flack, Danny and Adam this meant going upstairs and relaxing while Mac, Peyton and Hawkes stayed downstairs, playing poker. Lindsay, who wasn't really tired yet and also wasn't in the mood for poker, decided to spend some time on her own.

Quickly putting on her thick coat and her warm boots, she left the ski cottage. After closing the door behind her, Lindsay remained standing in front of it for a bit, simply taking in the view in front of her. She had already done that but still couldn't get enough of the beauty of the landscape. The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains and the first stars were visible above in the endless dark blue sky.

Sighing lightly, she started to walk down the small path that lead to the road. The longer they were at this place the more she started to love it. So quiet, so peaceful. So romantic. A perfect place. A perfect place for spending a vacation with people she liked. Although 'liking' wasn't really a fitting word for one of them.

"Hey Montana, where are you going to?" a familiar voice suddenly interrupted her in her thoughts. Immediately blushing, wondering if there was a possibilty he could know she had just thought about him, Lindsay turned around to Danny.

"Hey," she greeted back, hoping the slight darkness would hide the bright red tone of her face. "I thought it'd be nice to go for a walk a bit."

"Alone? In the darkness?" Danny asked, walking over to her. "I'm not sure I like that idea."

Playfull rolling her eyes at him, Lindsay laughed. "I'm no baby, Danny. And didn't you actually plan on sleeping a bit?"

Danny shook his head. "I'll sleep enough tonight," he said. "But if you want we could go together. Just for a bit. So I don't have to worry that someone could get the stupid idea to kidnap you. I'm sure crimes like that happen here as well."

"Yeah, who knows," Lindsay replied. "But...I'd be happy to have a companion."

"See, I knew you'd say that," Danny answered, smiling.

Together they started to walk down the small road that lead into the city. For the first few minutes neither of them spoke a word. Like so many times before, both noticed something between them that made them incapable of talking. This connection. Special and strong. It was an amazing feeling and both were frightened to destroy it. It took Lindsay a while until she decided to break the silence.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked. "I hope you don't have too many bruises."

"Oh, right, the bruises," Danny replied, smirking remembering her earlier comment. "Wasn't it you who wanted to have a look at them?"

Laughing, Lindsay shook her head at him. "I'm sure you're alright," she answered. She paused for a moment before she added, "Mac's idea to take us here was really nice."

Danny nodded in agreement. "Definitely. Especially when you meet a skiing teacher who's so amazed by you..."

Surprised by her friend's sudden statement, Lindsay looked up at him, noticing he was watching her as well. In his eyes she could see that he wasn't just joking. His earlier behaviour was another proof for that. For a brief moment she thought about teasing him, but somehow this situation was too serious for joking.

"Let him, obviously he enjoys being the grinning sunshine boy," she answered, smiling at the instant change of his expression.

"Sunshine boy?" Danny asked, amused raising his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah, don't you know those men?" she asked back. "Those guys who grin at everything, who are full of enthusiasm and who are the master of making compliments to impress women. Doesn't really work for me though."

"No? And what does work for you?"

Again seeing the serious expression in Danny's eyes, Lindsay needed a moment to think about an answer. What should she say? The truth or just something excusing? But if they continued this teasing-and-not-coming-up-with-the-truth game, they would never make progresses.

"There are a lot of things," she answered. "For example when a man is a gentleman. When he takes a woman for a walk, just to take care of her. That's really sweet."

"It is?" Danny asked, stopping for a moment.

"It is," Lindsay replied, stopping as well.

And there it was again; their tension, just with the difference that this time it wasn't something secretly happening. It was obvious to both.

"Then maybe he should continue the walk," Danny suddenly said into the silence. And before Lindsay could respond, he took her arm gently, pulling her a little closer. Then he rested his arm around her shoulder, holding her while they started walking again. Once again neither of them spoke a word. But words weren't needed at this moment; the tension between them was saying more than words.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow, so many reviews!! Thank you! Here's the next chapter!**

"What a wonderful evening," Lindsay said, almost instinctively snuggling a bit closer against Danny's side when a cold breeze hit them.

"Definitely," Danny agreed. They were on their way back to the ski cottage. Walking into the direction of the city, Danny's arm resting around Lindsay's shoulder tightly and supportive, neither of them had noticed how long they had been out.

They were silent for another few minutes before Lindsay started to speak again.

"What do you think the others will say when we'll come back?" she wanted to know.

Danny shrugged. "No idea, what should they think?" With a smirk he added, "We haven't done anything...forbidden, right?"

Playfully sighing, Lindsay chuckled. "Yes. I know that and you know that. But we also know them and how much they love to gossip."

"Let them gossip, who cares about that?" Danny replied, holding her a little closer against him when he noticed how she was shivering lightly in the cold. "And...who knows, maybe they're not that wrong with their imaginations."

Realising what he had just said, Danny couldn't help but blush, causing him to curse himself for that. But seriously, why should he lie? It was true, wasn't it? There was definitely something between them, something special. A special tension that was so obvious that everyone had already noticed it, long time before either of them had even dared to think about something going on between them.

"Yeah, maybe," Lindsay replied. She didn't say more. She could feel that Danny didn't await that she'd say more. Together they continued their walk back to their holiday house, both silent, both thinking. Whatever was happening between them had made them thoughtful. In a good way. But both couldn't deny they were slightly confused as well. Confused by how strong the connection was. A connection that was definitely more than just friendship. But they also knew they'd need a while, they'd need time to make another step, to open up about what they were really feeling.

When they arrived at the ski cottage again, it was already completely dark outside. Only the moon and thousands of stars were sending their light down to the two persons, hesitating to enter the house. But their hesitation was unnecessary they noticed the moment they decided to simply open the front door. The large living room was empty now; obviously Mac, Peyton and Hawkes had decided to go to bed as well.

"So...then have a good night, Montana," Danny said when they had reached the first floor.

"Thank you. Have a good night as well, Danny," Lindsay replied, smiling at him.

Once again they hesitated. They were standing right in front of each other, eyes locked. There were only a couple of inches separating them, but it already felt like there was no single bit of body space left between them. And there it was suddenly. Watching Danny, almost losing herself in the depth of his beautiful eyes, Lindsay felt the strong urge to just reach over to him, grab him and pull him into a deep, passionate kiss. The wish to just do it suddenly became so strong that she had to break the eye contact to him.

"I think we should...go to bed now," she stammered, praying that she wasn't blushing and that he couldn't somehow guess what was going on in her mind at this particular moment. "We'll have another hard day tomorrow."

"That's true," Danny agreed. "Alright, see you tomorrow."

With that he headed over to his own room. Without hesitating any longer, Lindsay rushed into her own one, making sure that she didn't suddenly change her mind and gave in to her urge; something that could get embarrassing if he was seeing her in another way.

But if Lindsay had hoped that she could simply go to bed now, she had been wrong. The moment she entered her bedroom, she was greeted by her two roommates, Stella and Peyton, who were looking at her in excitement.

"Oh, Lindsay," Stella greeted her, smirking. "We were already wondering where you've been."

"I was in the mood for a walk," Lindsay answered quickly, hoping she could please her two friends with that. "It was so nice outside."

"Oh, a walk," Peyton said, smirking as well. "And...have you been alone?"

"Is that important?" Lindsay asked back, already feeling herself blushing.

Stella and Peyton shared a short glance before they nodded and said, "Yes, it is."

Sighing lightly, Lindsay let herself fall onto her bed. She knew there was no way to get out of this situation without answering. And what had Danny said? They hadn't done anything forbidden.

"Danny joined me," she answered like it was the most random thing to say.

"Oh yeah?" Stella asked, smiling even more. "And, was it a nice walk?"

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay groaned. "Yes. We talked a bit and that's all. Alright? Now I really want to sleep, and you should do the same."

With that she removed her clothes and climbed into her bed, pulling her blanket tight around herself, determined to not answer any further questions.

"I don't know what you think, Peyton," Stella said after a brief moment of silence. "But I only wanted to know if it was a nice walk. I didn't expect anything else. But maybe..."

With that Stella stopped, both women chuckling. Lindsay only rolled her eyes once again. Sometimes she felt like they were in kindergarten. Although she couldn't deny that Stella and her had acted the same way before Mac and Peyton had started dating. But- who had said that she and Danny would start dating as well? Sighing once again, Lindsay pulled her blanket higher. This situation was just totally confusing. Maybe it was te best if she simply fell asleep. The next day everything would be different again. Maybe.

Meanwhile Danny had managed to lie down in his own bed as well. When he had entered his bedroom, he had been greeted in a similar way like Lindsay; Flack and Adam ad already awaited him, grinning broadly.

"Is something wrong with you?" he asked although he knew his friends good enough what they were grinning about.

"Where have you been all the time?" Flack asked. "We already started to worry. You, alone, out there. Although...maybe you haven't been alone...?"

Groaning in annoyance, Danny shook his head at the other two men. "How old are we? 16?"

"What? Did we say anything wrong?" Flack asked Adam, who shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, and you don't have to say anything, alright?" Danny shot back. Quickly lying down in his bed, he turned his back on his two friends, showing them he was not in the mood for any talk like that.

"Don't think we'll just drop this topic," Flack warned. "We'll continue that. Tomorrow."

Then it was finally silent in the men's bedroom. But Danny still couldn't fall asleep. He wondered if Lindsay had been greeted the same way by her friends, who obviously loved keeping an eye on them, teasing them with what seemed to be so obvious; their feelings for each other. And for a brief moment he wondered if maybe it was them who acted a little childish.

There was a tension between them, a special connection, and both new about that. So why didn't they just talk about it? Maybe because they were frightened. Frightened that they could have misinterpreted a sign. But they'd never find out if they didn't finally be brave and have a little talk about what was going on between them. And this had to happen soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Again thank you so much for all the reviews! Thank you! :)**

When Lindsay woke up the next morning, her thoughts instantly drifted back to the evening before. A smile lit her face when she remembered how close she and Danny had been, without actually doing anything. But those two didn't have to do anything to feel close; the connection that had been between them since the day they had met at the zoo, was steadily increasing with the time. And that whatever was between them was more than just friendship, was for sure. Even she had noticed that now.

Slowly sitting up in bed, she threw a short glance over at her two friends. Still cuddled into their beds, both seemed to be still sleeping; much to Lindsay's relief. She knew those two friends of her; they were curious, just like her. She could be pretty sure that whatever tension was between her and Danny, Stella and Peyton had already noticed it. And knowing that she and Danny had gone for a walk that late? Of course they wanted to know every detail about that. But not now. Not until Lindsay had figured out herself what exactly was happening between them.

Quietly she got up and left the bedroom. To her luck nobody seemed to be awake yet and so she decided to use her chance and have a nice, long shower. The hot water had a welcomed, relaxing effect on her. Another long, exhausting day would await them. They'd ski again; luckily she wasn't one of those who had to learn everything from the beginning. According to Mike they'd be able to go onto the ski slopes today for the first time. This was a nice difference to the day before. Lindsay loved skiing and she was pretty sure that the others would love the time in the mountains on the snowy, endless ski slopes as well.

After around half an hour, Lindsay left the shower again. Still slightly sleepy, she wrapped herself into a warm, thick towel- just in time when the bathroom door was suddenly opened. The moment Danny stepped into the room and saw his surprised friend in front of him, he stopped in his tracks, staring at her with huge eyes.

"Oh, uh...I'm sorry, I didn't know someone's in here," he stammered, blushing lightly. "But...maybe I should have knocked or something...I'm sorry."

"It's okay, don't worry," Lindsay replied, much to her own surprise. She was really not shocked that he had just come into the bathroom, seeing her in nothing else than a towel. "Just give me five minutes to get dressed."

"Five minutes?" Danny asked, surprised raising his eyebrows. "Since when do women need only five minutes for getting dressed?"

"I'm not like other women," Lindsay answered, laughing.

"Yeah, that's true." Giving her one last, thoughtful look, Danny turned around and left the bathroom.

Exactly five minutes later, Lindsay had finished getting dressed and left the bathroom again. To her surprise she didn't see Danny anywhere nearby, but then she noticed noises coming from downstairs. Getting down into the living room, she noticed him standing in the kitchen.

"You can go into the bathroom now," she said. But Danny shook his head.

"I can do that later," he answered. "But I thought this time it'd be nice if I made breakfast for us. Or at least coffee. I'm not as good with pancakes as you are."

Chuckling, Lindsay sat down at the kitchen table, watching Danny filling two cups with the freshly made coffee before he joined her. Taking one sip, Lindsay closed her eyes.

"Hmm, wow. Maybe you're not good with pancakes, but your coffee is fantastic," she said, giving him a smile.

Smiling back, blushing again, Danny nodded. "Yeah. When you're addicted to coffee, you have to."

They remained sitting at the table in silence for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying their morning coffee. As secretly as possible Lindsay tried to watch him. And again she caught herself by feeling the urge to get even closer to him. To touch him. Or do other things with him. She didn't really know what had caused those wishes. Maybe the way Danny had acted during the time since they were at this place? Like when he had been jealous about the attention Mike had given to her? Or maybe it had been because of their walk yesterday, when she had felt herself being closer to him than ever before. She didn't know it, but one thing was for sure; they couldn't go on like that forever.

"How do you feel today?" she asked into the silence. "I hope your bruises don't hurt too much."

Smiling at the sudden concern in her voice, Danny looked up at her, shaking his head. "No, I'm alright. Really. Well, some body parts are looking like someone beat me up, but apart from that I'm okay. I'm just hoping that today, when we'll really ski, I won't break any bones or something."

"Don't worry," Lindsay replied. "We'll take care of you. And soon you'll be good enough to do it on your own, without any help or instructions."

"Oh, really?" Danny asked back, grinning. "Does that mean, Mr...how did you call him? Right, sunshine boy. Does that mean, I don't have to be around Mr. Sunshine Boy all the time?"

Laughing at his comment, Lindsay shook her head. Even in this teasing, little comment she could hear the dislike Danny felt for their skiing teacher. But somehow she could even understand him.

"Well, it's his job to take care of us. Or at least to take care of you, Don, Stella and Adam. But he won't tell you what to do all the time anymore. When you know how to ski down a slope and how to break, it's getting easier for you."

Playfully sighing, Danny leant back in his chair. "Thank god," he groaned, causing Lindsay to laugh even more. She didn't notice the smile he was giving her. She also didn't know the thoughts that were running through his mind while doing that. Those little teasing conversations he loved so much. But he loved spending time with her even more. So he wouldn't have to be with this Mike guy all the time? Good. That meant the two of them could be together even more. Maybe somehow he could manage to make her give him some private skiing lessons. At this moment he couldn't know how much time they'd really spent together later.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Aww! Again so many reviews! Thank you! They make me so happy!!**

"Everyone ready for a real skiing lesson?" Mike greeted the team after they had arrived at the skiing station and had put their ski on.

"First real skiing lesson?" Flack asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "And what was what we did yesterday?"

Laughing at the comment, Mike answered, "Of course that was skiing as well. But after showing you the basics, we're going to try one of the real ski slopes now. A longer one. It'll take us a few hours until we'll be back here again, so be prepared. At the beginning we'll all stay together, so I can see how good you're on your own. When I see that it's not too dangerous for you to be without me, you can team up with one of the professionals, so we don't have to wait for each other all the time."

"Oh, nice idea," Danny answered, to the surprise of everyone agreeing with the skiing teacher. But Danny didn't care. Instead of that he threw a quick glance at Lindsay. When he noticed she was looking at him as well, he smiled. He already knew exactly who he wanted to have as his partner.

Together with Mike they headed over to a near ski lift, which would lead them to the ski slope he had chosen for them. They would start on an easy one, which was long but not too difficult for beginners.

Knowing she was getting closer and closer to finally stop practicing and real skiing, Lindsay could feel how she became more and more excited. This whole vacation reminded her of her home back in Montana so much. It was almost unbelievable that they were actually in Europe and not in the Montanan mountains. Of course Lindsay loved her life in New York and she'd never want to move away again. But she couldn't deny that sometimes she felt a tiny bit homesick. A vacation like that was perfect for her. And, what was even better, it was nice to be together with her friends as well.

When they had finally reached the top of the ski slope, Danny couldn't deny that his heart started to beat faster. After the pretty successful day before, he was sure that he could definitely handle an easy ski slope, maybe even a more difficult one. But when he was now standing on top of it, he wasn't sure anymore. Sure, this was nothing compared to what he had seen other skiers on. But it was also different from what they had done the day before. He was pretty sure that there was no way he could go back to the ski station without hurting himself in some way.

"I know, this looks different from the slope we were on yesterday," Mike said, like he had read Danny's mind, which caused him to role his eyes. "But don't worry. It's easier than it looks like. So, let's see what you can still remember of what I taught you yesterday. Who wants to start? Mr. Messer maybe?"

Hearing his name and seeing the grin on Mike's face, now even bigger than usually, Danny couldn't help but release an annoyed sigh. This time it was surely not a coincidence; this guy thought it was funny to tease him. But he wouldn't please him with showing how annoying that was.

"Sure, why not," he replied instead. "What am I supposed to do?"

"It's easy," Mike answered. "I'll ski down there a couple of feet. You'll just repeat what I did and stop next to me. That's all."

With that the skiing teacher moved to the edge of the slope and in elegant, wavy lines, skied down a couple of feet.

"Sure, that's all," Danny mumbled, sighing again. Okay, he could do that. Sure, this slope was cliffier than the one from yesterday, but if he moved slowly, he could do that.

And with that he started to move as well. The first few curves he really managed without falling or making any mistakes. Proud and more confident, Danny got closer and closer to where Mike was waiting for him. But then, when he had almost reached him, Danny lost control over his ski again and fell.

"Damn," he hissed, fighting with his ski and ski sticks to sit up again.

"Hey, that was really good," Mike, who was looking at him, said with a supportive smile. "You really learnt a lot yesterday."

Looking up at the other man, Danny couldn't help but think that despite his usually annoying behaviour, Mike also seemed to have a nicer side. At least sometimes.

"Thank you," he replied, after two attempts managing to get up again.

Mike nodded before he turned back to the other waiting team members. "Okay, who's next? Maybe one of the professionals?"

"What about me?" Lindsay shouted, not even thinking about it. She didn't really know why she wanted to be next. There were some excuses she could come up with, but every of it made her blush in embarrassment.

"Alright," Mike shouted back.

Lindsay nodded. Taking a deep breath like always, she moved onto the ski slope and, like the skiing teacher before, skied down elegantly, stopping right next to Danny.

"Perfect," Mike said, this time not earning an annoyed look from Danny, who didn't really pay attention to the teacher anyway.

After that the rest of the team followed. Much to Mike's pleasure, everyone of them was more or less successful. Stella and Adam had still slight problems, which made him decide to take care of the two while the rest could go on already.

"Like I said, always one professional with one beginner," he ordered.

"I think that's pretty easy," Flack said before any of the others could even think about team constellations. With a slight grin he added, "I think Mac and Peyton surely want to be together. I'll go with Hawkes here and Danny and Lindsay are the third time. What do you say?"

"If no one has anything against that, good idea," Mac agreed. Looking at Danny and Lindsay, who both hadn't been able to prevent themselves from blushing, he asked, "Is that okay for the two of you?"

"Sure," both answered at the same time, which caused them to blush even more.

"Alright, then let's start, so Mike can concentrate on Stella and Adam," Mac said.

With that he and Peyton took off down the ski slope. Flack and Hawkes followed them, a little slower so Flack had it easier. While Mike turned his full attention back to Stella and Adam, Danny and Lindsay were left alone with themselves.

"Okay. So, are you ready to have me as your teacher now?" Lindsay asked, trying to overplay the intense tension that was growing between them again.

"Of course," Danny answered. "As long as you're not too hard to me."

"I won't don't worry. Okay, let's go."

A moment later, the two finally started to move as well. Both couldn't deny that they were more than pleased about them teaming up in smaller groups; the perfect opportunity to spend some time alone. But neither of them knew how close they'd really get during the time they'd be together.

**A/N: I know, no kiss again. But we're getting closer to it. ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing! Here's finally the next chapter. With...well, maybe a kiss? We'll see. ;) Enjoy, r&r!**

As much as Danny loved that he and Lindsay could spend some time alone, without any Mike or anyone else in the way, he couldn't deny that the ski slope the skiing teacher had chosen for them, scared him slightly. It was much more cliffy than he had expected it to be.

Lindsay, who didn't want him to get hurt, had decided they'd take their time, no matter how slow they were. But, to her amusement, she noticed more than once how he hesitated.

"Don't be afraid, it's not as dangerous as it looks like," she said while they were staring down a cliffier part of the slope. They were alone now; Stella, Adam and Mike were still far away on an easier part of the slope while Hawkes, Flack, Mac and Peyton had been faster than them. "You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," Danny instantly contradicted. "But...sorry, this looks a little more dangerous than before."

"I know. But I'm sure you can handle that," Lindsay tried to encourage him. "Do you want me to show you how to do it?"

Danny nodded. "But be careful, okay? I don't think I can really rescue you here."

"Don't worry about that," Lindsay replied, chuckling. With that she started to move and skied down a few feet where she stopped again.

"Now you," she shouted up to him.

Taking a deep breath, Danny closed his eyes. This time he didn't really care how he looked like. He also didn't care if he impressed Lindsay with his skills or not. He knew that one couldn't win her with showing he was the best anyway. No, right now all he wanted was managing to ski down this slope without hurting himself too much.

And so he followed her, slower of course, but to his own surprise he didn't even fall this time and managed to stop right next to her. Proud, he looked at her, becoming even happier when he saw the huge smile on her face.

"Wow, that was fantastic," she exclaimed, patting his arm. "And you were afraid. You're learning so fast. Congratulations!"

Seeing that somehow he had managed to impress her without even really wanting it, Danny couldn't help but blush.

"Thank you," he said. His eyes travelled further down the ski slope. It didn't really look much different from the part he had just managed to handle. This hadn't been too hard, so he'd be able to do it again. "Okay, then let's go on, maybe we can catch up with the others." With that he started to move again, this time not afraid of getting hurt or falling.

But the moment Lindsay saw him skiing down the slope, she knew it wouldn't work. His fear had made him be careful and concentrated. His new confidence now made him more careless; something that could get really dangerous.

"Danny, wait!" she shouted, trying to follow him, already noticing how he increased his speed. "Danny, ski slower! I don't want you to get hurt!"

But her warning was too late. Like expected, he already started to lose control over his ski. Because the slope was much cliffier than usually, all his attempts at breaking failed. Before he could even think about any other possibilities, he fell. Hard. Harder than usual. Seeing that, Lindsay closed her eyes for a moment.

"Danny, are you okay?" she shouted. But, despite his usual reactions, she didn't get an answer. He didn't even move.

"Oh, shit," she said, quickly making her way down to him. Kneeling down next to him, she grabbed his arm gently.

"Danny, please tell me you're okay," she whispered, turning him onto his back carefully. The moment she saw the painful look in his eyes, she knew he wasn't. "What does hurt? Please, talk to me."

"My leg," he said between clenched teeth, pressing his hand against a spot on his right upper thigh. "I think the ski hit me there when I fell."

"Let me see," she answered. As careful as possible she pushed the leg of his pants up until she could see the hurting spot. Seeing the large bruise that was building there, she knew he was right. The edge of his ski must have hit against his other leg when he fell.

Quickly removing her gloves, she rested her cool hands on his thigh as gently as possible. At the first contact he winced lightly, but then she could feel how he started to relax.

"I'm no doctor," she said after a few moments, looking up at him, trying to give him a supportive smile. "But I think it's not broken. Just a pretty bad bruise."

"See, I told you I look like someone beat me up," Danny replied, although he was in pain, managing to smile as well.

They looked at each other for a while, neither of them speaking a word, Lindsay's hand still resting on his leg. Lindsay still tried to calm herself down. For a brief moment, she had really been scared. Scared that he could have hurt himself more seriously.

"I'm sorry I...well, I was stupid to think I'm a professional skier now," Danny said then, half teasing half serious. "I should have been more careful."

"This can happen," Lindsay replied. "It's normal at the beginning. I'm just glad it's only this bruise."

"I didn't mean to scare you," he answered, noticing how pale her face was. "I'm glad it's you who's here with me now."

Blushing lightly, Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, me, too. Don't worry, I'm sure Mike and the others will be here soon. They'll help us to bring you away from here."

"I'm not even sure I want to be taken away from here," Danny replied.

Lindsay didn't say anything to that. She just looked up at Danny, straight into his eyes again. She didn't need him to say more to know what he was talking about. She couldn't deny that actually this was the perfect moment for the talk the two of them should finally have. The talk about what was really going on between them.

But before any of them could say anything, something else happened. Neither of them knew who had made the first step. All they could remember was, that suddenly they got closer until their lips met in a warm, gentle kiss. A kiss both of them had secretly been longing for for such a long time. A kiss that said more than words, that clearly revealed what they were really feeling for each other.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Wow, so many reviews! Thank you!! I'm happy you liked the kiss. ;)**

It was their very first shared kiss, and to both, Danny and Lindsay, it felt like they had just gotten their first kiss in general. The sensation of it was incredibly. It wasn't comparable to anything else they had experienced before. Although they were sitting in the middle of a ski slope, one of them slightly injured. But no matter what was happening around them; it didn't matter.

After what had to be several minutes, they broke apart again. Looking straight into each other's eyes, neither of them was able to speak in the first moment. Still breathless by the intensity of the kiss, they couldn't help but smile.

Lindsay needed a moment before she remembered how they had even ended up in this position. Her eyes travelled down to where her hand was still resting on Danny's thigh, where she could see a large bruise now.

"Oh, does it still hurt?" she asked, removing her now warm hands from his leg. But before she could completely pull back, Danny grabbed her hands, resting them back onto their former place.

"It does," he answered, his eyes remaining on her all the time. "But not as much when you keep your hands on it. And when you distract me."

Smiling, Lindsay shook her hand. "I'm serious, Danny. Does it hurt much?"

"No, it's not that bad," Danny replied. Lindsay only nodded at that, looking down at the bruise again. Danny, who knew her for long enough now, already knew this gaze and knew what it meant. "What are you worrying about now? Linds, that's nothing, just a bruise. Don't worry."

Trying to fake a smile, she looked up again. "I know. But...well, I was just thinking that when we'd have stayed together with Mike, this wouldn't have happened. I'm no skiing teacher, I shouldn't have taken care of you alone."

"What?" Danny asked, surprised raising his eyebrows. When she remained avoiding any kind of eye contact, he gently lifted her chin, making her look at him. "You don't seriously think this here is your fault, right?"

Lindsay shrugged. "I should have known this is too dangerous. I should have stopped you. I should have..."

"No, stop that, Lindsay," he interrupted her, gently but determined. "It was me who wasn't careful enough, who thought I can handle that because I didn't fall earlier. It was not your fault. What did you want to do? Step into my way and stop me? I don't think that would have worked."

Thinking about that, Lindsay couldn't help but chuckle lightly. Yes, stopping him wouldn't have worked. "But..."

"No 'but', okay? I'm old enough to take care of myself. I'm no baby anymore." Smiling a bit when he noticed that slowly she was getting what he tried to tell her, he added, "And now stop worrying and distract me already."

Smiling back, Lindsay didn't respond to that. Instead of that she bent forward for another kiss. The kiss quickly deepened and before Lindsay could react she was already lying in a tight embrace with Danny, in the middle of the ski slope, kissing. But after a brief moment of hesitation, she pushed every doubts away. They couldn't get away from this place now anyway, and no one was close who could help them. They had to wait for Mike, Stella and Adam, and why not warming each other up a little? Even if it was just kissing. But kissing like that with a person who she had so many feelings for, was already very impressive.

Lindsay didn't know how long they had been sitting in the snow, waiting and kissing. She couldn't deny that the way Danny kissed her, was very addictive. It was passionate, which caused her to want more and more. But it was also very gentle and lovingly; something that caused her heart to ache, making her want to remain in his arms, to be hold by him.

"Hey, look who's there!" they suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting.

"Oh, Mike comes to the rescue," Danny mumbled, already rolling his eyes. Amused chuckling, Lindsay got up from her current position; half lying, half kneeling. But before she could shout back, Mike had already reached them, followed by still insecure Adam and Stella.

"Is everything okay?" the skiing teacher asked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Danny replied when Mike knelt down next to him, already examining the bruise. "I just fell and accidentally the ski hit against my leg."

"Ouch," Mike replied. "Did you try to get up?"

Danny shook his head. "Not yet. But it's really not that bad."

"Alright, let's check that out."

While Mike helped Danny to get up, Lindsay watched the two men before she turned to Adam and Stella. While Adam's attention was resting on the skiing teacher and his friend as well, Stella was looking at her, smiling. When she noticed Lindsay glancing at her as well, she came over to her friend.

"Danny can be glad it was you he was together with until we arrived," she whispered, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

Blushing, Lindsay nodded, trying to overplay what she was really thinking and feeling at this particular moment. "Well, getting hurt while being alone can be dangerous."

"I'm not talking about you helping him," Stella replied, and Lindsay knew Stella already knew exactly in which direction she wanted to lead this conversation. "The way I saw the two of you when you came into eye sight...well, it said more than words."

Sighing lightly, Lindsay realised that it was unnecessary to continue denying. Stella was her best friend, why lying at her?

"Okay, okay," she answered quietly. "But do me a favour and don't run to everyone and tell them, okay? Danny and I, we...well, we...we kissed, okay? But we didn't really talk about anything yet. I don't want everyone to talk about us before we clarified what exactly is going on."

Stella nodded understanding. "Of course. I won't say a single word." She wanted to say more but was interrupted by Mike.

"Alright, I think it's the best if we take you back to the ski station," he said to Danny. Looking at the others, he added, "What about you? I think you're good enough to go with Miss Monroe now. Or you'll come with me. You can decide."

"Of course we'll come with you," Adam answered quickly, not really wanting to continue when he remembered the description he had gotten from Mike when he had asked him how the rest of the ski slope would be- not easy, the skiing teacher had said. One injured person was enough, even if it was just a bruise. "What about you, Stella? Lindsay?"

"Of course we'll come with you as well," Stella answered. She didn't need to wait for Lindsay to reply; she knew her friend wouldn't let Danny and Mike alone.

Together, the five started to slowly leave the ski slope, taking an alternative way Mike knew. While Mike was talking all the time and Stella and Adam responded to what he was saying, Danny and Lindsay were silent. They shared a short glance which already said more than words; maybe the situation in which they had gotten closer, hadn't been the best for a first kiss. But it didn't matter. They had finally made this step; the step that crossed the line between friendship and more. They had kissed, had shown each other that there was much more where this passion and intensity was coming from. But both also knew that gestures weren't enough; they'd still have to talk.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

"How do you feel, Danny?" Lindsay asked after she, Mike, Stella and Adam had managed to bring Danny back to the ski station.

Danny opened his mouth to answer, but Mike was faster.

"I'm sure that's nothing bad," he said, giving Danny one of his hugest smiles. "Those accidents happen often. It's a hurting bruise, but nothing's broken." To Stella and Adam he said, "If you want, we can go to another ski slope now, an easier one. I'm sure Mr Messer wants to relax a bit."

Throwing a quick glance at Danny and Lindsay, noticing the look they shared, she nodded. "Very good idea," she agreed.

"But my butt hurts like crazy," Adam complained, rubbing said body part, an unhappy expression on his face.

"Come on, Adam, don't be a baby," Stella only replied, grabbing his arm to pull him with her. "You'll see, in a few minutes you won't even notice that anymore."

"Alright, so we can leave you alone here?" Mike asked, just to be sure, still the huge smile on his face. Lindsay nodded.

"Yes, of course," she answered. "I'll take care of him."

"Very good," Mike replied, already following Stella and the still complaining Adam. "We'll be back in another hour I think."

"There's no need to hurry," Lindsay whispered, before she turned back to Danny, whose face was saying more than words again. "So, how do you feel?"

"I'm alright," he answered, shifting on the bench he was sitting on. "But you heard what Mike said, it's nothing."

Laughing, Lindsay shook her head. "Don't listen to him. He has no idea. A bruise can hurt like crap."

"Who are you telling," Danny sighed. "Alright, what are we going to do now? I mean, if you want to hear my honest opinion, I don't want to remain sitting here, next to the slopes, waiting for another bad skier running into us."

"Oh, that I don't want to happen," she answered. "You know what? We'll just go up to the terrasse. There nobody won't hurt us and we have a fantastic view."

"Whatever you want, Montana."

Together the two got up onto the terrasse, Danny using Lindsay for support. Relieved, he sighed when he could finally sit down, this time in a more comfortable chair. Lindsay sat down next to him, still carrying the ice Mike had given to her so she could cool Danny's bruise.

"Did I promise too much?" she asked, while Danny let his eyes wander over the fantastic view in front of him. He looked at her, smirking lightly.

"Sure, it's nice, and surely reminds you of Montana, right?" he answered. "But I prefer looking at my other Montana, to be honest."

Instantly blushing, Lindsay shook her head at him. "Are you going to tease me again?"

"No, I don't," he answered, giving her one of those smiles that instantly turned her knees into jelly. "I'm just honest."

Lindsay didn't reply to that. Too much she was caught in the endless depth of his eyes, causing her heart to beat faster. When had she felt like that for the last time? When she had been a teenager maybe? Possible. It was amazing what this man could do to her with simply looking at her. And kissing her? That was just impressive.

"What are you thinking about, Montana?" Danny asked. Lindsay, who hadn't even noticed she had been staring at him for several moments, blushed even more.

"Nothing, just that...you should put the ice onto your bruise again," she answered quickly, handing the bundle back to him. Raising his eyebrows slightly, Danny took it from her and pressed it back against his leg.

"So, Montana," he said after a few moments, while she tried to seem as interested into the surrounding area as possible. "Are we going to be silent for the next hour, pretending everything's like always or what?"

Looking at him again, Lindsay hoped she wouldn't blush again. "Well...I don't know," she managed to say. She wanted to add more, but didn't really know what. They had to talk, that was for sure, and actually the kiss had shown how much was going on between them. But something was still holding her back from just speaking it out.

"Alright, you don't want to start, then I will," Danny said then. "Just answer one question for me; do you regret what we did?"

"No, of course not," Lindsay answered, looking at him with huge, surprised eyes. "Did I...give you the feeling I regret it?"

Danny shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"I don't, really. But...what about you?"

"Me?" Danny smirked even more. "How could I regret such an amazing, breathtaking, hot kiss?" And with a little wink at her, he added, "If you want my honest opinion, I also wouldn't mind doing it again. It makes me forget the pain."

Chuckling, Lindsay bent over to him to place a gentle kiss onto his lips, but before he could deepen it, she pulled back again.

"Don't you think we should...talk about that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Danny replied. "If you want to talk, sure, let's do it. But if you ask me, I don't need anything to be clarified."

"That means?"

Smiling again, Danny kissed her gently before he answered, "I want you, Lindsay. Alright? I think I always did. I want to be together with you. I don't care if anyone knows or not. I just want to be with you."

Stunned by so much honesty, Lindsay didn't know what to respond first. But when she noticed that she was staring at him again, she quickly replied, "That's what I want as well."

"Really?"

Finally smiling a little more confident, she nodded. "Really."

With that Lindsay bent over to Danny again, this time allowing them to give in to their feelings they had for each other. They wanted to be together, that was for sure. Who needed long conversations when a single sentence, combined with a kiss, already told them everything they needed to know?


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for all the reviews!! I'm so happy about them. Thank you!**

Another hour later, the rest of the team and the skiing teacher arrived at the ski station again. When Danny and Lindsay had spotted their friends returning, they had already gotten downstairs again, to await them.

Of course both noticed the glances they received, especially from Flack and Stella, who knew exactly what was going on between the two of them, even before they had noticed it themselves. But neither of them reacted to those glances. Instead of that they just smiled back, acting like nothing had happened. They'd have their long interrogations with their friends later anyway.

Back at the ski cottage, Hawkes examined Danny's bruise. He found out that there was indeed nothing broken, but next to the hurting bruise, he had also a painful stain in his leg. Of course he didn't want to admit that he was in pain, but Danny's expression whenever he had to get up or had to walk said more than words.

It was evening when the team had finished dinner and were making plans how to spend the rest of the day.

"I don't know what you're thinking," Flack said. "But I don't want to spend another evening here. As nice as this house is, it's getting boring."

"I agree with you," Adam answered. "Can't we go into the city? I know, it's not the biggest city on earth, but better than sitting at home all the time."

Mac nodded. Even he couldn't deny that he didn't want to stay another evening in the ski cottage. "So, who disagrees with going into the city?"

While Peyton, Stella and Hawkes agreed with the plan, Danny and Lindsay said nothing. Knowing that walking wasn't something he enjoyed at the moment, Lindsay knew Danny wouldn't like to go out. And she didn't want to leave him alone all the time.

"What about you?" Flack asked, already smirking at his two friends again.

Rolling his eyes, Danny answered, "I'm not sure I'd like to go for a walk now. I'm glad when I don't have to walk at all."

"That's an argument," Stella agreed. "What about you, Lindsay?"

Instantly blushing, she replied, "Well, maybe someone should stay here. I think it's kinda boring to be alone all the time."

Stella nodded, already opening her mouth to reply, but Mac, who wanted to prevent his other team members to start long discussions, was faster.

"Alright, then let's go. Danny and Lindsay will stay here. We'll be back in a few hours," he said, already getting up. He was glad they had found an easy solution for Danny not going out and if Lindsay wanted to stay with him, it was okay to him. For him there was no need to continue discussing.

"Okay, boss," Adam answered, slightly rolling his eyes. Even on vacation Mac told them what to do. But as long as it was something he liked to do, it was okay to him.

Another few minutes later, the team, except Danny and Lindsay, had left again. The two were still sitting in the living room, both silent. Lindsay glanced over at Danny, seeing that obviously he was still in pain. She knew what had happened to him, hadn't been her fault at all, but she didn't like to see him like that anyway.

"Does it hurt again?" she asked.

Danny nodded lightly. "I think the pain killers are not working anymore. Although I have no idea why I'm in pain now and not earlier."

"Maybe it was the adrenaline," Lindsay suggested.

"Maybe it was also something else," he replied.

Seeing the expression in his eyes, Lindsay couldn't help but blush again. She didn't really know why, but she still needed to get used to the fact that she was together with Danny now; the man, who had actually been her friend until this day. At least she had always thought that. But he had already told her he wanted her, so why hesitating?

"Then maybe you should...do whatever helped you again?" she more stated than asked.

"Very good idea," Danny replied and with that already reached over to her. Gently Lindsay grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull her over to him.

"Honestly, I'd rather stay here with you with a hurting leg than being out there now," he whispered, gently drawing his fingers through her curly hair.

Smiling lightly, she moved even closer to him. "You're talking too much," she whispered back, and before he could respond, she already kissed him.

And like before, the kiss quickly deepened. Both got lost in the intensity of the feelings this contact between them caused. Lindsay was still impressed by how much she wanted him, how much she even needed him. Her longing for him was almost overwhelming her, but she didn't care. She even started to forget that they were still sitting in the middle of the living room, of the ski cottage they shared with their other friends. She almost forgot that. Almost.

"Danny...maybe we...shouldn't stay here," she managed to stay between kissing, cursing herself for making them stop.

"Maybe we should go upstairs then," Danny suggested, slightly smirking at her. "But whose room should we take? Yours or mine? I think Don and Adam would tease us more if they caught us together."

The thought of that happening alone already made Lindsay blush again, causing Danny to laugh.

"Did I ever tell you how cute you are when you're blushing?" he asked. Before she could contradict, he kissed her again, this time softer and more gentle. Then he moved to get up, groaning lightly at the pain. "Let's get up there. Your room."

Willingly, Lindsay followed him. They went up to her room, but before they had even managed to close the door behind them, they were already lost in kissing each other again. If it always felt like that, neither of them knew how they'd ever be able to stay away from each other longer than a few minutes from now on. They stumbled over to Lindsay's bed, until they hit against the edge of it and fell backwards.

"Oh, are you alright?" Lindsay asked, concerned about Danny's leg.

"I'm perfect, as long as you don't stop," he answered, already bending down to kiss her again.

The next hour was spent with nothing else than the two of them kissing and cuddling, enjoying how close they were to each other now, and how wonderful it was. Neither of them had expected their connection to be that strong already. But it was, they couldn't deny it.

"So, you don't like to cuddle?" Lindsay asked, smirking up at him. "Doesn't look like that, to be honest."

Smiling back, Danny placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead. "You're an exception," he answered. "In many different ways."

"Many different ways? What do you mean with that?" she wanted to know.

But Danny didn't respond. He only looked her straight into her eyes, before he kissed her again. And he didn't have to say anything. Knowing that this was his way to tell Lindsay how important she was to him, how different he felt for her, instantly started to warm her heart. The longer they were together, the more they realised that liking each other a lot, longing for each other and enjoying being together didn't even come close to what they were really feeling.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/n: Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

"Did you hear that?" Lindsay asked into the silence.

"What?" Danny asked back. They had been lying on Lindsay's bed, holding each other in a warm, loving embrace during the last hour, simply enjoying each other's nearness.

"I thought I heard someone speaking," she answered. Concentrated she listened. Were the others already coming back? And obviously she had been right.

"Now I heard it, too," Danny said, with a groan managing to sit up again. "I think if we don't want our co-workers to find us here together, I should head over into my own room now. You know, they love acting like teenagers sometimes."

Lindsay chuckled, but nodded in agreement. "I think that's a good idea. Although...I would have loved you to stay here for a bit longer."

"We'll have more than enough time for that," he replied, giving her another little kiss before he got up and left the room.

A couple of minutes later, Lindsay heard the voices of her friends coming from downstairs. Knowing that she wasn't able to hide anything, she decided it was the best to stay in her bedroom. She didn't want the whole team to ask her questions about how she and Danny had spent the last two hours. Although they had actually not done anything, apart from a bit kissing and cuddling.

Trying to look not too excited, Lindsay grabbed the book she had taken with her to pretend reading. When Stella and Peyton entered the room, both looking exhausted after going for a walk with Mac and the others for two entire hours, she looked up briefly and smiled.

"Hey, you're back," she said. "How was your walk?"

"Nice," was Stella's brief reply. She started to remove her clothes, her eyes never leaving Lindsay though. "And what about you? How did you spent two entire hours while you had to...take care of Danny."

Hearing the sound in Stella's voice and seeing hers and Peyton's expressions, Lindsay couldn't help but sigh lightly. She knew what the two wanted to hear. But she didn't want to please her teasing friends that easily.

"Oh, nice as well," she answered then.

"Just nice?" Stella and Peyton exchanged a questioning look. Lindsay knew that those two would never give up on questioning and interrogating her. Maybe it was better to give them some answers they wanted to hear before they asked any deeper going questions.

"We aren't in kindergarten, right?" she asked. "There isn't much to tell. The two of you know we're getting closer and closer and yes, we kissed and we spent the time together. But that's all. Nothing else. Nothing major. No reason to get excited."

Stella and Peyton were silent for a moment, looking at each other, then at Lindsay, who was surprised by how almost mad she had sounded. Until now she hadn't even noticed how much she was annoyed by being observed all the time, no matter what she did, especially when it had to do with her and Danny.

"I'm sorry, Linds," this time Peyton said. "We don't mean to annoy you or embarrass you or something. Well, we're just...curious. All we want is to see you and Danny together. The two of you are just perfect for each other. And seeing that you're getting closer and closer is wonderful. Of course we can understand that's a private situation. But if you ever need to talk or want to get something out, you can always come to us."

Listening to Peyton's warm, almost comforting words, Lindsay couldn't help but smile at her two friends. Of course she knew they wanted her best. Like she and Stella had tried everything to bring Peyton and Mac closer.

"I know," she answered. "It's not that I have a problem with you asking me about Danny. But...sometimes this whole being watched and analyzed is getting too much for me. I'm nervous anyway. I mean, when we arrived here a few days ago, Danny and I were just co-workers and friends, nothing else. And now..."

"I know what you mean," Peyton replied. "I think I felt the same with Mac. It's a strange feeling when you're together with a colleague suddenly. And all your other co-workers are watching you. Although I think he had the bigger problem with that."

"Not anymore," Stella commented, causing Lindsay and Peyton to laugh. Yes, Mac had changed a lot since he was together with Peyton; he was much more relaxed now.

"Danny also changed a lot since he knows you," she said, quickly changing the topic from her and Mac back to Lindsay and Danny.

Blushing lightly, Lindsay shrugged. But Stella nodded in agreement.

"He's calmer. And...well, you know how he acts around you," she said. "I'm happy the two of you finally woke up and realized what's going on between the two of you. We all were getting desperate with the time."

Lindsay only laughed at that. When she was honest, she couldn't deny that Danny was changing with the time. And maybe her friends were right; maybe there was indeed this tension between them, existing since the very first moment they met.

The three women continued talking until they decided to go to bed. Lindsay didn't need long to fall asleep; after such a day, she was more than happy.

The next day, the whole team was supposed to go skiing again; like the rest of the vacation. But when Danny had woken up the next morning, he had been able to get up and walking had worked as well, but he had to admit that there was no way he'd be able to ski.

"And what are we going to do with you for all the hours?" Mac wanted to know, sounding a little concerned.

"I'm no kid, Mac," Danny replied.

"Are you sure?" Flack teased, receiving a glare from his best friend.

"I know you can stay here alone," Mac answered. "But I don't think you want to spend the whole time here in the house. And I don't like the idea of you running around while being hurt."

"Then why doesn't someone stay here with him?" this time Adam asked, with the hopeful expression in his eyes revealing that he hoped he could stay.

"That's a good idea," Stella answered quickly. "But don't even think you'll stay here, Adam. You still have to learn how to ski and you'll try it until you can do it. Maybe someone who can already ski, should stay here."

With that she threw a short, but thoughtful look into Lindsay's direction. Lindsay, still not sure how many of her co-workers she wanted to know about her relationship with Danny, couldn't help but blush lightly. Especially in front of her boss she didn't really want to admit the two of them were together and that she wanted to stay with him. But Danny had less problems with that, how she learnt in the next morning.

"Of course I don't want anyone to miss the pleasure of skiing," he said half honest, half sarcastically. "But I think Stella's idea is good. May I wish for the one who can stay here?"

"Sure," Mac answered, sighing lightly. Of course he already knew Danny's answer, but he wouldn't show that. Somehow he could understand his two young detectives.

"I want Lindsay to stay here," Danny answered, trying to not smile. "Yesterday she took care of me so well. If she doesn't mind of course."

Blushing even more, Lindsay shrugged. "Of course I don't mind."

"Alright then. Danny and Lindsay will stay here and we're going to hurry now," Mac said before either of his other friends could comment Danny's decision, Lindsay's expression or anything else. He knew how much they all loved teasing each other, but they would never leave this house if he didn't interrupt now.

A few minutes later, the team left, leaving Danny and Lindsay alone in the cottage once again. But both didn't care about the thoughtful looks and grins they received. When it came to the two of them, all their grown up friends changed into children. But it didn't matter to them. The prospect of spending an entire day together was too good.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!!**

"So what are we going to do now?" Lindsay asked, snuggling closer against Danny's side. They were still sitting on the living room couch, enjoying the fact that they were alone now, without the fear anyone could interrupt them.

"Hm, I don't know what you'd like to do," Danny replied and with a smirk added, "I have many ideas though."

Hearing the sound in his voice, Lindsay rolled her eyes playfully. "You can't wait, can you?"

"Not really," Danny teased back. He looked down at her, surprised noticing that her expression was telling him that she wasn't as much joking as he had expected. He hesitated for a moment, wondering what might be going on in her mind at this particular moment and how he could react to it the best.

"Lindsay?" he said. When she looked up at him, showing him he had her attention, he asked, "If you want to wait with...this, you just have to say it."

Lindsay couldn't help but blush at that. For her, it was already a strange feeling to be together with Danny, to kiss him, to be that close to him. Talking about sex with him, even when they didn't say the word, was even harder. At least for her. But she also didn't want him to think anything wrong about her.

"It's not that...I don't want to or something. I mean, it's just...I don't know how to explain it," she started, but was gently interrupted by him.

"You don't have to explain anything," he replied. "It's okay. We can wait, as long as you want to. You don't have to say a word about the reasons. And don't worry, I won't run away. Promise."

Chuckling lightly, Lindsay nodded. "Thank you," she said, giving him a grateful smile.

She was glad he didn't await any explanations. How should she tell him that she wanted to wait to test him? To test them? She wanted to be sure if he was serious, if he really wanted to have a relationship with her or if he was just a bit attracted to her. Deep inside Lindsay knew that Danny would never treat her like that, but she wanted to be sure anyway. She wanted to wait, at least for a bit.

"So what are we going to do today?" she repeated her earlier question after a few minutes of silence. "We could go for a walk today, if you think you can do that with your leg."

"Sounds good," Danny replied. "Walking I can do. Just skiing wouldn't work."

"And I'm sure you're extremely disappointed because of that, right?" Lindsay asked back, grinning.

"Definitely," he answered, giving her a small kiss onto the lips, before he moved to get up. "Let's see what a couple can do in this city."

A few minutes later, Danny and Lindsay were already on their way into the city. Lindsay clearly enjoyed her idea. They could be sure they wouldn't meet someone they knew; they had all privacy they wanted to have and needed to have.

The moment the two reached the more crowded part of the city, Lindsay noticed how Danny instantly rested his arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer to him; something she couldn't help but smile at. From Danny's earlier behaviour, she knew he was a person who easily got jealous. She was still not sure if his reactions to Mike, the skiing teacher, had been because he couldn't bear the man being better in something or if Stella and Peyton were right and it had to do with her.

But whatever it was, he had a possessive side, that was for sure. But she couldn't deny she felt any different. Before she had even accepted that she was seriously interested in Danny, Lindsay had caught herself more than once by reacting jealous, almost mad, at women who had tried to flirt with him, who had paid attention to him. This was something they had in common. Something they should take care of though.

"You're not in the mood for window shopping, are you?" Lindsay asked after a while.

Danny looked at her, seeming to be unsure about what to answer. "Hm, difficult question..."

"Just be honest," Lindsay said, laughing.

"You want me to be honest?" Danny asked back. "If you force me to do window shopping now, I'll go straight home."

Laughing even more, Lindsay nodded. "That's what I expected. And don't worry, you don't have to. I don't like doing that either."

Sighing playfully, he answered, "Thank you. That relieves me. For a moment you scared me."

Still laughing, she smacked his arm. "Funny, really. But what about going into one of those nice cafes again?"

"Sounds much better," Danny agreed.

A bit later, the couple was sitting in one of the cafes again, enjoying the view they had from their table at the window. But although everything seemed to be nice and peaceful, Lindsay quickly noticed a change in Danny's behaviour, a couple of minutes after they had entered the room and had sat down at their table. She could almost feel the tension inside him. She wondered what might have caused this sudden change, but couldn't really come up with any explanation.

"Are you okay?" she asked then.

"Uh, sure," Danny answered, not the slightest bit convincing her.

"Okay...I don't believe a single word," Lindsay replied. "So what's wrong?"

Looking at her, Danny hesitated for a moment, thinking about what to say. For a brief moment he even thought about coming up with some random excuse, but if he wanted them to work, he should be able to talk about everything, especially about situations like that.

"If this guy over there doesn't stop looking at you immediately, he'll get a serious problem with me," he said.

He pointed into a special direction. When Lindsay looked at where he was pointing, she indeed noticed a man, looking into their direction. But looking back at Danny revealed that he was seriously annoyed by this man and knowing his temper, she knew that this was the right moment to interfere.

"Don't you think you're already hurt enough?" she asked, smiling, hoping to ease the tension.

"Don't you think I would be able to handle him?" Danny asked back, causing her to raise her eyebrows.

"You won't go and start a fight with some guy now," she answered.

Danny only stared back at her for a moment, fighting with himself, before she noticed him blushing.

"I'm sorry, it's just...I don't like it when someone looks at you like that," he replied then. "Like Mike. Like he acted around you all the time. It really pissed me off."

"Oh, really?" Lindsay asked. "I, uh...well."

"I'm sorry for acting like that," he added.

"Oh, no, it's okay," she answered quickly. "Well, it'd be nice if you didn't freak out at someone, but...somehow I can understand that."

"You do?" Danny asked back, now smirking at her. "That's interesting."

Lindsay only laughed at that, playfully rolling her eyes at him. But to her luck, the little conversation had helped her to turn his attention away from the other man. And she hadn't lied. Of course she could understand him. And obviously Stella and Peyton had been right. Danny had really been jealous because of the attention Mike had paid to her. As much as they both had to take care that they didn't go too far with their jealousy, it also showed how much they already cared about each other.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!!**

Danny and Lindsay spent two hours in the city until they decided to go back to the holiday house. They had still enough time left to be alone, but somehow the city had become too crowded for them. They couldn't deny that the urge to simply be alone was becoming stronger and stronger with every passing minute.

After leaving the city and on their way up to the house, both were silent. With one look Danny had noticed that Lindsay had been deep in her thoughts. He didn't want to interrupt her and thought that simply letting her think would be better. But with the time he couldn't help but get curious. What was she thinking about all the time?

"Is everything okay with you?" he asked.

Snapping back into reality, Lindsay looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wanted to be sure," Danny replied.

Again Lindsay nodded, obviously not feeling the need to continue the conversation, thinking that Danny had gotten the answer to his question. But he hadn't.

"Okay, Lindsay, to be honest, I asked for a reason," he added after another minute of silence.

Again looking at him, smiling, Lindsay answered, "That's what I expected. So why did you ask?"

Sighing lightly, Danny needed a moment to think about what to say without seeming too curious or too controlling.

"I just...wanted to know what you were thinking about," he explained then. "I mean, not that you have to tell me what you're thinking all the time, but...well, for the case you're maybe worrying about something..."

"Oh, I didn't worry about anything," Lindsay answered, her smile widening at the concern in his voice and the fact that he had even noticed her being far away with her thoughts. "I was just thinking about how wonderful it is here right now."

"You don't miss the skiing?" Danny asked, slightly teasing but also slightly serious.

Lindsay shook her head. "No. Of course it was fun but...honestly, I'm rather here, with you and alone than up there right now."

Surprised by her honesty, Danny raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked, the sound of his voice causing Lindsay to laugh.

"Yes, really," she answered. "I'm happy to have some time with you alone. Since we arrived here, we hardly had such a moment. Yeah, once, when we were going for a walk, but that was just a couple of minutes. And...well, it just feels nice. I don't know how to describe it."

"I know what you mean," Danny answered, nodding in agreement.

"Nice," Lindsay replied, snuggling a little closer against him.

While Danny held her a little tighter against himself, he let his thoughts drift away as well. Yes, he knew exactly what she was talking about. It was like the evening before, just with the difference that this time they had almost an entire day to spend on their own, without any kind of interruption.

If Danny was completely honest, there had been several occasions when he had wished he could be alone with Lindsay since she had arrived in New York. First he had needed ages to even realise that he was interested in the pretty, young woman. But then he had surprised noticed that he wasn't able to act on this realisation. He couldn't just go to her and ask her out, like he would have done it with every other woman as well. No, Lindsay was different. He couldn't just treat her like any other woman, he needed to come up with something else.

Now, a long while later, Danny started to realise where his problem had been. He hadn't been afraid to ask her out, or even shy. No, simply going out, maybe going a little further after that, like normally, hadn't been what he had wanted to happen. Because she was special to him. She was more. She was simply more than a nice person he met and he could have some fun with. She was a person he could imagine a serious relationship with. Maybe even who he could marry, or have kids with.

The moment Danny's thoughts reached this point, he blushed. Marriage and kids? Wasn't that a little too much right now? They had just gotten together, had kissed and admitted they wanted each other. They hadn't even had sex yet. Although this didn't even bother Danny. He didn't need to sleep with her to feel them connected, to be close to her. Simply being with her was already enough. Holding her in his arms, kissing her, like the evening before, had been more intimate than any sex he had ever had with any other woman. But for some reason this didn't even confuse Danny.

When the couple had reached the holiday house again, they decided it would be nice to continue enjoying the beauty of the day. Not from inside the house of course, but there was still the balcony they could use for that. And so the two of them sat on the balcony a few minutes later. They were sharing one chair, Lindsay half lying on Danny, while both of them were tightly wrapped into a large, thick blanket. Again many minutes passed without anyone speaking, and without the need of it.

"What a beautiful landscape," Lindsay said into the silence. "I know, I think I said that around a thousand times already, but...it's just wonderful. It's like...

"...home," Danny completed her sentence.

Lindsay nodded, a smile on her face. "Exactly. It's like in Montana. The quiet, the mountains, the snow, the little city. Everything. It's perfect."

"More perfect than New York?" Danny asked without actually noticing it. The moment he realised what he had said, he cursed himself. Hopefully his voice hadn't revealed that this was not just a question but also a reveal of one of his fears; that one day she could realise New York wasn't her home.

"No. Why?" Lindsay replied, with one word asking the question Danny had been frightened of. But he couldn't lie either. She would sense that. And he was a bad liar as well.

"I was just wondering...do you sometimes miss your old home? Like now, when you're reminded of how beautiful it was over there? New York is the complete opposite."

"But the complete opposite doesn't mean it has to be less good," Lindsay answered.

"I know, but...like you said, Montana is beautiful, quiet and peaceful. And New York is loud, busy and exhausting." He paused for a moment before he added, "Don't you think one day you'll have the wish to go back again?"

Slightly afraid of her answer, Danny moved his position so he could look at her face, waiting for a response. But he didn't have to wait long.

"No," she said determined.

"No?" Danny asked surprised.

Lindsay shook her head. "No. It was always my dream to go to New York. I don't regret it and never will. I love the city. I have a great job, wonderful friends and everything. It's my home. Especially because I have something I would never want to miss anymore."

"What's that?" he wanted to know.

"You," she replied, smiling even more.

Danny needed a moment before he could respond to that. She had him; something she didn't want to miss anymore. That was by far the cutest confession he had heard until now.

"Same I could say about you," he said then.

"Good to know," she answered.

Then they were quiet again. Danny pulled Lindsay a little closer against him. With only a few sentences she had managed to wipe away one of his biggest fears. And while thinking about how grateful he was that she had decided to move to New York, he suddenly got the answer for his earlier question. Why was it already enough for him to be around her? Why was kissing already more intimate than anything he had experienced before? The answer was easy. And actually it wasn't surprising him.

**A/N: There'll be two more chapters.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

It was late in the afternoon when the other team members returned to the holiday house. Danny and Lindsay didn't pay any attention to that. They remained sitting on the balcony, still in their comfortable cuddle position. There was no need to fool themselves- everyone knew they were together, so why hiding it? And to their surprise, neither of their friends said anything. They gave them smiles, knowing smiles, but neither of them teased them.

Unfortunately this day had been the last during the vacation Danny and Lindsay had been able to spend alone. The next days Danny's wounded leg healed enough so that he could join his other team members on the ski slopes again. In the evenings they had some time on their own, but also didn't want to be too separate from their friends; after all it was a team vacation.

And so the vacation passed, too quick for the taste of everyone. So it was no surprise that all of them were more or less sad when they had to pack their suitcases again the evening before they'd fly back to New York. All of them missed their home of course, but the relaxing and wonderful vacation had been exactly what they had needed and they didn't want to go back to their all day lives yet.

Lindsay, who had finished packing first, used the busy atmosphere to go outside. It was already dark, like at the first evening. Freezing at the sudden, cold wind, she cuddled more into her thick jacket. Sitting down on the bench in front of the house, she let her eyes wander over the beautiful view.

Sighing lightly, Lindsay mentally replayed the last few days. When Mac had told them they'd go on vacation, she had been excited. A vacation- she couldn't even remember when she had been on one for the last time. And with the team? Even better!

But then the vacation had taken a surprising turn. Now she and Danny were together- something she had never expected to happen but somehow had hoped for. Of course she'd be sad to leave this wonderful place, but at least she still had him.

"So alone out here?" a familiar voice interrupted her in her thoughts. Looking up, she noticed Danny, who had just left the house as well and now joined her on the bench. Gently he rested his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "Is everything okay?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, everything's okay. I just thought I should enjoy this view for the last time before we go back home."

Danny nodded as well, pulling her even closer. He hesitated for a moment before he asked, "Are you sure you're...happy to go back?"

Turning a bit so she could look at him, Lindsay raised her eyebrows. "Why shouldn't I? I already told you I'm happy to go back to New York, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I know," Danny replied. "But...you look sad."

"I'm not sad," Lindsay answered. "It's just...I don't know, I don't want to go back to our normal life already. Not yet."

"Do you think it will change anything?" Danny asked. "I mean between us?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No. At least not for me. What about you?"

"I don't think another location will change what I'm feeling for you," Danny answered, too quick for him to censor himself.

"What you're feeling for me?" Lindsay asked, slightly raising her eyebrows in curiosity.

Danny nodded, blushing. "Yeah. I'm feeling...a lot for you. For a pretty long time already I think. And no matter where we are, this won't change that easily."

Lindsay nodded. She hesitated, for a moment thinking about what she had just heard. She knew what she was feeling for Danny; if she was honest she knew it very well. She had already given up on denying it. But that he seemed to have serious feelings for her as well- that surprised her.

"And...what are you feeling?" Lindsay asked carefully. She didn't know if this question was okay or not, but she couldn't deny now desperately she wanted to have an answer. "You don't have to answer if...you don't want to."

But after hesitating for a brief moment, Danny smiled at her.

"As if I wouldn't say anything now," he answered. Gently he changed her position a bit until he could face her completely before he continued, "Lindsay, I needed a long while to finally understand what is going on between the two of us. But now I know that actually I'm feeling like this for a very, very long time now. You mean so much to me. I...I never felt like that before, to be honest." He paused for a moment before he finally said, "I love you."

This little confession instantly made Lindsay speechless. She didn't know what she had expected him to say. But that he would seriously admit that he loved her? That just surprised her. In a wonderful way. And before Lindsay could even think about a reply, she already heard herself respond.

"I love you, too," she whispered.

Danny only smiled at her, tears already rising in his eyes. Without saying a word, he bent forward, pulling Lindsay into a deep, gentle kiss. Suddenly all sadness about them going back to New York was gone. Who cared where they were? They were together, they were in love and they were happy and that was all that mattered.

**A/N: The next chapter will be the last chapter of the story.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: This is the last chapter of the story. And I have to say- I'll miss it! Especially because of all the wonderful feedback I got. Thank you so much! Thanks for adding this story to your favourites and alerts. And thank you so much for all the reviews! When I started this story, I never expected you'd like it so much. You made me so happy with reading and reviewing this fic. Now I have another question? Who of you would like to read a sequel? I already started another humor fic, where Danny and Lindsay aren't together yet though. Would you rather like to see a fic like that (where they aren't together yet) or a sequel to this one here? Tell me what you think! And again, thank you!**

The flight back home to New York was long and exhausting. Luckily Danny and Lindsay had managed to get two seats next to each other. But after talking and cuddling at the beginning, both fell asleep and didn't wake up until they arrived at home again.

While leaving the plane and later the airport, all of the team members were unusually quiet. Mostly because of the long and exhausting hours in the plane but also because they all were a little sad; sad that now their holidays and vacation were over and they had to get back to their normal all day lives.

This at least counted for most of them. But for Danny and Lindsay it was different. The vacation hadn't just been good for them to relax and an opportunity to spend more time with their team members. No, it had also changed a lot for them.

"Would you mind if we shared a cab?" Danny asked Lindsay while the two pushed their suitcases over to the near cab station.

Giving him a tired smile, Lindsay replied, "I'd love to."

"Alright," Danny said. "Then give me your suitcase and sit down already."

"I can do that on my own, you don't have to..." Lindsay started, but stopped when she saw the look he gave her.

"Hey, would you please let me be a gentleman for you?" he asked back, playfully raising his eyebrows at her.

Laughing, Lindsay stepped away from her suitcase. "Alright. Then play gentleman."

With that she did what he had told her and already sat down in the cab while the cabbie helped Danny with their overfilled suitcases. From her position in the backseat, Lindsay watched her other friends entering cabs as well. They had already said good-bye to each other at the airport, what was actually unnecessary, because the day after they'd meet at work again. But anyway it was different and Lindsay couldn't deny she felt slightly sad.

When she had started to work for the New York Crime Lab, she had instantly noticed how close the team members were, how much of a family almost. She had wished to be a part of that one day and had been surprised how fast she had been accepted as one of their own. Anyway Mac had wanted to go on vacation with them, to bring them even closer. And it had worked. There was a strong, family-like connection between all of them; a friendship that had nothing to do with having the same job.

"Dreaming again, Montana?" Danny's voice suddenly interrupted her in her thoughts. She hadn't even noticed he had joined her in the cab.

"No," she answered. "I was just thinking. This vacation was wonderful." And with a smile she added, "It's a great feeling to be part of this."

"Part of what?" Danny asked, already snuggling closer against her while the cabbie started the car.

"Part of this lab family," Lindsay explained. "You all have been so close and when I was new, I've been afraid that maybe I wouldn't fit in or something. But...now I don't have that feeling anymore. I was scared because I was so alone in the city at first, but now I feel like home. Totally."

"Of course you feel at home," Danny said, placing a soft kiss into her hair. "Because this city here is where you belong to. It's where you're supposed to be. And hey, how could you think you wouldn't become of...how did you call it? The lab family? For me you've always been one of us. And you always will be. Especially for me."

Smiling at him, Lindsay nodded. "Thank you."

Then they were silent again. Around half an hour, the cabbie stopped in front of Lindsay's apartment building. But the moment she realised she had to get out of the car and upstairs, alone, she hesitated. Unsure on what to do, she turned around to look at Danny, giving him a questioning look. And like she had expected, Danny understood immediately.

"Do you want me to come up there as well?" he asked. "I mean, I can go to my place later. And for the case I won't have the time for that, I have also clothes in my locker. And I also didn't use everything I packed into my suitcase. So, if you'd like to have a companion..."

Lindsay only smiled at him, nodding. Together they left the cab and headed upstairs. And like he had expected it, Danny didn't have the chance to get to his apartment; he stayed at hers. During the last days, the two had discovered a lot; they had found out how strong the connection between them really was and they had found out that the feelings they had for each other, was much more than just friendship. It was love. And both had been able to confess it. Now, back in New York, this hadn't changed. They were in love, they were together and they didn't need a vacation to spend as much time together as possible.


End file.
